Joe Gallene turned for home with a full body-length lead, and for the first time, UNCW coach Dave Allen felt confident his team would win another Colonial Athletic Association men’s swimming and diving championship.

Gallene closed out the 400-yard freestyle relay in conference-record time Saturday night at the University of Maryland to clinch UNCW’s 13th consecutive CAA title. The Seahawks, saved from the chopping block nine months ago, needed to take the final race of the four-day meet for an unlikely victory over William & Mary, 729.5-721.5.

“That (first title in 2002) will always be the most special because we’d never won one on the men’s side,” Allen said. “This one was probably the sweetest because we were really the underdogs going into the meet. We were the underdogs for three-and-a-half days, right down to that last race.”

Allen, who started the team in 1977, had prepared for an end to the streak. Both UNCW swim teams were spared from elimination last spring along with three other sports but lost several top swimmers to transfer amid the uncertainty.

The veteran coach knew the Seahawks were going to have a hard time matching up with William & Mary. He preached a day-by-day approach and just hoped his team would get to Saturday within striking distance.

UNCW added another title to its collection thanks to a balanced effort. Gallene (50 free) and Michael Baric (100 back) won individual events, and all 17 swimmers and three divers in action scored for the Seahawks.

William & Mary led much of the final day until UNCW’s strong showing in the 3-meter diving event. Allen Crosby took bronze, and Nathan Lane (fourth) and Chase Seymour (sixth) also scored.

UNCW grabbed a two-point lead heading into the final event and needed to win to assure the title. William & Mary had the better seed time, but the Seahawks led wire-to-wire in the decisive race.

Gabe Thran put UNCW ahead and Alex Labonge and Adam Salzman preserved the advantage for Gallene to finish in 2 minutes, 56.69 seconds, about two seconds ahead of the Tribe. Thran and Gallene, both seniors, have helped the Seahawks win the race at the CAA meet three straight years.

Afterward, Allen happily leapt into the pool to celebrate with his swimmers, following a tradition that never seemed certain to continue. He called the thrilling finish closure for swimmers who pushed through a turbulent year.

“They did it in style, they really did,” Allen said, “but it was going to take that type of effort to win this meet.”

The women’s team placed fourth out of eight teams, well behind champion Towson.

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About This Blog

Hey there, I’m StarNews staff writer Eric Detweiler, and I handle the UNCW beat. I’m a Pennyslvania native who went to the University of Maryland and came to Wilmington in August 2013 after stops in Denver and Washington, D.C. Feel free to reach out with questions or comments about our coverage of the Seahawks. Thanks for reading.